10 April 2014

Thursday.....still here.....

We were going to leave this morning and head to Marathon, but the weather forecast calls for 3' seas so the Captain said we would stay one more day.  We came down in 1'-2' seas, and we could probably handle 3', but the forecast for tomorrow is more calm....
We have spent the last 2 days touring and walking and eating and site seeing, etc.  Below are just a few of the sites we have seen. The weather the day we arrived was 82+.  A rain and WIND storm blew through the Tuesday and cooled things down considerably.  Yesterday and today the high's around 73.  Mostly sunny.  Beautiful!!
Below is a picture Joe took when Tim said we had just entered the everglades.
Yesterday we walked most of the way down Duvall Street.  Some of the pretty architecture.
An old cathedral. "At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Saviour instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood." (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1323)
All around the city there are placards describing various historical events/places.  This placard recalls the great fire that destroyed the island.
As you can see, we were not the only people out on this day.  This is taken looking down Duvall Street.
All of these roots belong to one tree.  There are SO many amazing horticultural displays here.
When we were here last year we viewed the sunset from this pier.  It was also the first (and last) time that Tim tried conch fritters. :)  On this day, it was very windy.  Most of the commercial ships stayed in port as a result.
A view of Maggie Mae from the 'tourist' perspective.  See if you can find her.  It's been pretty funny to see people's expressions when they read our port city (PERRY, KS) on the back of our boat.  A few have even snapped photos.
Last night we decided to go view Mallory Square.  We arrived early enough to get a seat on a bench.  We sat for quite awhile and watched as the local vendors and street performers set up their wares/acts.  We ate popcorn and did some people watching.  Always fun.  I spent at least 10 minutes hand feeding popcorn to a male rooster, a hen and a few doves.
 It took awhile for the 2 popcorn carts to get ready and Joe was first in line.  I think this photo should be his new FB profile pic, don't you?
 This performer had an audience of 1, while getting his act set up.  He joked with the crowd (you will see below) about getting fired from Cirque du Soleil.
 His first act was to fit his muscular body though a tennis racquet.  It looked rather painful to me. :(
 Then the balancing act.  He started on 1 board and worked his way up to 3 boards separated by wooden blocks.  All the while, talking up the audience (that continued to grow).  In the end he juggled 3 sharp items while the crowd gave their applause.  In the end he held out his black bag asking for a meager donation of $5.  Joe paid. I carried. Amazing the number of donations he received.  Not bad for 30 minutes of performing.  We returned to the boat, had supper and watched a little TV.  I failed to mention that the cold I had has migrated to the Captain.  He lost his voice yesterday and generally felt miserable most of the day.
 Tim was giving us some type of instruction on the boat this morning.  Joe and I were paying very close attention, I'm sure.
Returning from a day downtown.
 On our walk past the city marina this morning, I spotted this 'fruit'(?) tree.  Joe thinks it may be a pomegranate.  Aletha?
 Spotted this ceramic lizard clinging to a tree downtown.  A few blocks later we found a little bakery and had breakfast blueberry and raspberry cheese danishes. Yum!!
 Heading back to the boat we spied this beauty.  Tim and I tried to convince Joe to have a seat for a photo opportunity, but he was reluctant to do so.  As we walked away there was discussion about whether or not we should lave lifted the lid....I won't go any further....
 My favorite palm (the bismark) shown here with what appear to be dates hanging from it. Joe said he had never seen any before on this type of palm.  They looked good enough to eat.
 So....you never know who you are going to run into.  Pictured below, on the left, with his arms raised high in the air is Joe Williams.  Both Tim and I worked with him in the KS Nat'l Guard.  He was getting ready to depart for a day of snorkeling.  Nice to see you having a good time, buddy.
There is a local restaurant (BO) where the guys said they would take me for lunch.  We had grouper sandwiches there Tuesday and a patron sitting next to us said they had the 'best cheeseburgers on the planet', so we're headed back there today.  We hope to get underway again tomorrow morning.  You see, we have a friend flying in to Ft Lauderdale to meet up with us on the 14th, so we need to be making way... Until then.
 



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